IT is understandable that temperatures are rising over the present security situation at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

No passenger enjoys having to begin a short-break or holiday by joining a lengthy queue, while airlines naturally want their services to run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Easyjet is losing patience, saying that while it understands improvement work is currently being carried out at the airport, some passengers have missed flights because of a lack of security staff.

But it should also be remembered that the bottlenecks that are being experienced at various times are hardly in the interests of airport bosses, either.

Indeed, the £12m expansion works that are taking place at Liverpool JLA will provide passengers with much-improved security facilities.

Some might say the ever-growing airport has, temporarily at least, become a victim of its own success, while it seems security checks are taking longer for those passengers carrying extra hand luggage on board – often containing liquids – to avoid baggage charges.

Overriding everything is the security of passengers, which must always be the airport’s number one priority. The UK terror threat level was raised in January – which led to even more thorough security inspections at JLA.

This, then, is the backdrop to the unfortunate delays being experienced by some passengers at the airport.

Things WILL improve but, while no one is happy that people are currently being inconvenienced, it again has to be stressed that passenger security must always be the top priority.